Dreamless Nightmare
by ObsessiveCompulsiveValkyrie
Summary: 5D's next-gen! With the placement of the Fortune program, life was supposed to be peaceful and the apocalyptic future was supposed to be averted. But now, twenty-eight years after that fateful duel between Yusei and Z-one, a new threat appears and it's left to the next generation of Signers to defeat it. Yusei/Aki, Jack/Carly, Crow/Luna, Kalin/Misty. More details inside.
1. Chapter 1

Hello and welcome to _Dreamless Nightmare_! This is a Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's next-gen fic that has been in production for over a year. If you found this because you read _Sunset Horizon_, then you probably know a bit of the following. If not, here's a little of information.

A while back, I was posting sketches and (non-spoiler) profiles on my Facebook page. If you'd like to take a look, just search 'OCValkyrie' over there. Otherwise, I have a link on my author page right here on FFnet. I used to put the link at the ends of my chapters, but FFnet no longer allows copy-pasting, so I have to redirect you now. I also have a tumblr, if you'd like to follow me. I don't ask questions about who you are, but I'll answer any questions you have!

**A few things I'd like to mention about this fic:**

The parent pairings are Yusei/Aki, Jack/Carly, Crow/Luna, and Kalin/Misty. Because it is a next-gen, it will contain lots of OCs. If you have any complaints about them, please KINDLY tell me, either in review or PM. I am totally open to constructive criticism, so please tell me what you like/don't like about the characters. This sort of feedback would be amazing for me XD

The main OCs will have an in-fic intro, and the others you'll get to know as the story progresses.

This fic WILL be long! I'm expecting a good hundred chapters right now, give or take a few. I don't have the entire thing outlined yet! I have the general idea down, but it is a work-in-progress. I am a full-time college student and I would appreciate your support in however long it takes me to update. Also, there won't be any chapter names since I'm too lazy to think of a hundred-ish names. Please understand :)

As you may have noticed, I use the dub names for this. Mainly because I watched the dub first and those are the names I know. Also, I'd like to mention that my version of New Domino City (which is in Japan) is a cultural centerpoint of sort. It contains people of all nationalities and descents thereof. Please don't ask me questions about why the characters have western names in Japan. This is the answer you'll get. However, if you would like to know what the exact nationalities of each character is, I would be more than happy to tell you that.

**WARNINGS**. This fic is rated M. It will contain very dark themes, death, self-harm, possibly gore (nothing worse than you saw on the sub of the show), mature themes (there will be no actual frickle-frackling, but there will be strong allusions to it), crying teenagers, crying adults, underage drinking, and possibly other things that I can't remember right now. Please ask if you're concerned about any of the above or something I may not have mentioned. I will be happy to give you a non-spoiler answer.

The last thing I have to mention (saving the best for last!) is that this fic is not an entirely solo project. It's being beta'd by the amazing Miss **Rapis-Razuri** and duels are being written by **RealityRlySucks**!

There! Have a hefty chunk of text as we get started!

Oh, and I'll get a cover photo done soon-ish :) It'll take some extra work since I have to draw the characters from scratch, rather than manip something together like usual.

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for (or I have, anyway), chapter one of _Dreamless Nightmare_!

* * *

_**Dreamless Nightmare  
**_**Chapter 001**

_**Friday, January 7th**_

Footsteps sounded against the stairs at a hurried pace, moving quickly to reach their destination. As their owner reached the turn near the bottom, he placed his hand on the banister and leapt over the glass-paned railing before taking off for the kitchen.

"Good morning, Seero. You're late."

The young man flashed a bright grin at the older man in the room, crab-shaped hair with golden streaks bleached through it standing tall as always. His tanned skin looked paler than usual in the fluorescent kitchen lights and his cobalt eyes peered through black-framed lenses over a coffee cup.

Reaching a hand to scratch through his own spiked hair, Seero abashedly murmured, "Uh, yeah… About that…"

Shaking his head, the other man took a sip of his coffee and waved his free hand in dismissal. "Never mind. One day won't kill you. Just don't tell your mother."

Smiling widely, he replied, "Thanks, Dad! You're the best!"

…

_My name is Seero Fudo. I'm eighteen years old and a high school graduate for two years. I graduated at sixteen, two years ahead of everyone my age. They say I'm a genius, but I don't know about that. Seems a bit farfetched._

_I'm not one for monologuing, but here's a little bit of background to get you caught up. See, thirty years ago, my dad broke the way of society by turning around the system and becoming a saviour. He was a lowborn punk from the worker colony of Satellite who managed to break free and save the city, several times over._

_Of course, he didn't do it alone. He had friends around him—including my mom—that he relied on more than anything. He stresses the importance of friendship and bonds pretty frequently. I mean, I agree. I have a group of friends I'd do anything for. I just get sick of my dad's lectures._

_Anyway, so my dad is a legend here in New Domino City for not only uniting the city to Satellite, but he also saved everyone from the Dark Signers and a group called Yliaster. He was a Signer, a duelist chosen by the Crimson Dragon—a god—to help save the world. My mom, my best friend's dad, another friend's parents, and her uncle were all Signers, too. The six Signers formed a bond closer than anyone. That's probably why I'm so close to their kids. We all kinda grew up together._

_But my dad, Yusei Fudo, was their leader with the Signer mark of the Crimson Dragon's head. That's why he's so much more legendary than the other Signers. He was the inspiration and strategist of their team. Not to mention, his potential with Clear Mind._

_I followed in his footsteps as best I could. I always pestered him to teach me to duel and, as I got older, to teach me to build my runner. I'm definitely not as good with machines as my dad—he built not one, but two runners, out of junk—but my runner is still pretty badass compared to the generic ones on the market. It's nice to have connections to famous people._

_Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention it, but my best friend is Jack Atlas's daughter. Plus, Crow 'the Bullet' Hogan and Leo Kewell are related to two other friends. Being practically related to the world's top three turbo duelists is definitely an interesting trip._

_My parents both retired from professional dueling, but they still taught me and my little sister and have a match with us when they have time. See, my dad is a doctor leading the research on Ener-D. Most of his job is top secret, but we know that what he does prevents another tragedy like fifty years ago. You've heard of Zero Reverse, I'll bet. History books are chock-full of it._

_My mom's a doctor in the medical field. She's an obstetrician, so while she has regular office hours for appointments, she still works late with paperwork and emergency deliveries. I mean, it's cool that my mom helps bring babies into the world, but I'd rather not think about details._

_So, yeah. My parents are totally cool, but they aren't home very much. It's okay, though. My sister and I get along fine without them._

_I gotta say, it is pretty cool how much my parents love each other. When I was younger, I thought it was gross when they'd kiss and stuff, but now I'm eighteen and understand a little better. I really hope I have a marriage as comfortable as they do one day._

_If you haven't guessed by now, my dad is kind of my hero, with my mom in a close second._

_I haven't really said much about my mom, have I? She's a psychic duelist. She has the power to make her duel cards real and inflict real damage. It caused her a lot of problems when she was younger and couldn't control it. But it's because of that that she met my dad. She says it's the reason she fell in love with him. See, he's the one who encouraged her to control it and stood by her while she tried._

_Eventually, she did. Now she's a master at it. She can easily duel without accidentally using her powers. My little sister, Kali, inherited the psychic powers, but I didn't. My mom does what she can to help Kali control hers, but it's a tricky situation._

_I did, on the other hand, inherit my dad's potential for Clear Mind. I haven't been able to Accel Synchro with it yet. I'm still trying to master that part of it. That's another thing I respect so much about my dad. He only failed an Accel Synchro once before he got it right. I've already tried countless times and I still haven't gotten it. But I'll get it eventually! I swear it._

_See, my dream is to make it in the big leagues. My parents could probably make a call and get me a sponsorship, but I want to earn it. I don't want to ride my parents' coattails._

_So, yeah. That's about where we're at. I'll let the others tell you about their backgrounds._

…

Yusei shook his head good-naturedly and said, "Go change."

Seero looked down at his usual outfit of faded blue jeans, a black novelty undershirt with his dad's old logo—Team 5D's—printed on the front, a white button-down shirt left undone, and a black riding jacket on top. Black riding boots, fingerless grip gloves, and his Celtic cross necklace completed his look. His father had never argued with his casual clothes before. Sure, back when he wore his Dual Academy uniform in disarray or if Kali's skirt got too short, he would say something, but not his everyday clothes. Confused, he asked, "Why?"

Flashing a quick smile, he murmured, "We're going running."

His grin spread wide again. He and his father had a routine of going running for an hour every morning at six. Yusei would go to the R.R.D. center every day at eight, regardless of how late he got home the previous day. There were days that he wouldn't even come home and stay at the lab two days in a row and others where he'd be out well after midnight.

A day like today, where he was home at ten-thirty, was a rarity indeed.

Seero had graduated from Duel Academy at the top of his class, but had never received an offer to go pro. Sponsors would scout tournaments held at DA, but they only paid attention to duelists in the top three classes. Seero had skipped his entire tenth year, so the only tournaments offered during his two eligible years had either clashed with his trip out to California to visit his best friend or weren't significant enough to attract sponsors.

His parents allowed him to stay at home and didn't force him to get a job as long as he worked towards his goal of going pro. His mother, Akiza Izinski-Fudo, had set up a schedule that provided he spent every day from seven-thirty until three-thirty at the public dueling track, working to make himself known. Then, when that was done, he'd pack up and go out to his sister's school, East Tops High, to walk her home.

And, if his family was lucky, he'd make dinner when he got home.

The Fudo family was sporadic with both parents out of the house so much, so Seero and Kali had learned to make their own meals. The older of the two had taken a home economics class as a required elective in sixth year and found he enjoyed it, causing him to look into cooking and make a hobby out of it. His family always appreciated it when he made a home-cooked meal for them. Both Yusei and Akiza had gotten through college on instant food and hadn't learned to cook since, so the fact that Seero picked it up on his own was nothing short of a miracle.

He had thought that he might have stayed up too late watching the championship duel between Jack Atlas and Crow Hogan last night and slept through his usual morning run. The duel had been in the afternoon in London time, which meant it started at eleven o'clock at night in Japan time. It was too much for the teen to miss and he found himself engrossed in the match.

He had meant to get up at five-forty like usual, but found himself falling asleep propped against his headboard with his laptop without setting his alarm. He'd been disappointed when he thought he'd missed his run—it was one of the only times he got to see his father anymore—but found it actually worked out for the best.

Grinning, he faced his father and said, "I'll go change and be ready to go in five!"

Sighing, the older man muttered, "Not without eating breakfast, you're not. Your mother would kill me if I let you go without-"

"-the most important meal of the day," Seero finished. "Yeah, I know. I'll grab some toast or something with a cup of coffee before we go."

"Haha… That's Yusei for you. Always more concerned of what his wife thinks than the health of his kids!"

The two men turned with unamused expressions to face the newcomer, a man with hair very much like theirs and a goofy smile on his lips. He wore a grey button-down shirt, black slacks, and a white lab coat. An eerie glow lit up the air around him as he tucked one hand in his pocket and ignored Yusei's glare with a jubilant wave.

Seero grinned. "Hey, Grampa! When'd you get here?"

Yusei's expression stayed flat as he muttered, "Really, Father, did you just come here this morning to mock me?"

Yusei's father, Doctor Katsuro Fudo, ignored the question and instead moved to lean forward as if propping his elbows on the counter. However, his ghost-like limbs simply slipped through the surface as he frowned and straightened up. "Damn, I miss coffee. Seriously. I haven't had a cup in nearly fifty years."

Yusei only smiled and held his cup closer to his father, then drew it back and took a long, hearty gulp from the mug. Lowering it once again, he smiled at his father and mumbled, "Now we're even."

The look on Katsuro's face resembled a puppy who had his favorite toy stolen from him as he reached out weakly. "That's… That's not even…"

Sighing, Yusei shook his head and said, "Tell you what. If you ever become, well, alive again, I'll treat you to a cup of the expensive stuff right away."

Grinning, he hopped onto the counter and sat there, suspending himself from falling through somehow, and said, "There was this awesome little coffee shop about two blocks from the old R.R.D. facility. I loved that place so much. I used to go there for lunch with your mother. Until, you know, everything blew up, your mother died, and the shop was obliterated," he added with a nervous chuckle.

Seero stared agape as he added cream to his own cup of coffee. That was a bad joke if he ever heard one. Granted, if anyone had the right to joke about Zero Reverse, it was him, but it still seemed to be in bad taste to him. "Grampa…"

Yusei's expression darkened and returned to normal so quickly that it was barely noticeable. Ignoring his father, he turned to his son and said, "Don't forget, Brianne's coming in today. You'll be able to get her from the airport, right?"

He nodded, smiling bright once again. "Yep! Her jet gets in at two, right?"

"Yeah." Yusei dipped his chin in response before glancing at the clock on the wall. It was already getting close to eleven. "You know, just skip the track today. I won't tell your mother. By the time we get back from running, you'll only have two hours before you have to go get Brianne. By the time you wash up and get to the track, you won't even have an hour. Not even time for a proper duel."

Seero scratched the back of his head. "Ah, yeah… As a token of good faith, I'll make a good dinner tonight! Or tomorrow, since you probably won't be here tonight, huh?" It was already getting late in the day and his father never pulled anything less than a nine-hour shift.

He hummed slightly as he thought about it. "Probably not. I was there for fifty hours straight, so Channing kicked me home to get some sleep. I'm going back in at one, so we better get going on that run."

The teen nodded and gulped down the rest of his coffee. "Right! I'll go get changed and be back in a sec!"

Yusei laughed and followed his son towards the stairs. "I need to change, too. I'm not running in this," he muttered, looking down at his cobalt blue button-down shirt and charcoal grey slacks.

"I'm just going to go back to my private world of literal rainbows, okay?" Katsuro said, thrusting a thumb over his shoulder at nothing in particular before vanishing.

Seero stopped before leaving the kitchen and frowned at the spot where his grandfather sat until moments ago. Frowning, he wondered aloud, "Do you ever think he gets lonely…?"

Yusei shrugged lightly behind him. "I can't say. I know it strains him to come out of the reactor, though. I would like to see him more, but it's hard on him."

…

Fifteen minutes later, the two of them ran side-by-side in the community park that stood about two blocks from their home. It was their regular running place, though they changed the route for the sake of variety. Yusei turned to glance at his son and asked, "So, who won?"

Seero grinned and nonchalantly answered with another question, "Who do you think?"

"Jack?"

"Yup," he said, shrugging out of his zip-up sweatshirt despite the light snow fluttering around him. "Uncle Crow just can't seem to get past Red Nova Dragon."

He hummed a sound of acknowledgement. "Mm, yeah. He's a tough monster to beat."

Giving a humored smile, Seero asked, "Red Nova or Uncle Jack?"

"Yes," he answered, implying both of them were. "The last time I dueled Jack, I barely managed to take down Red Nova with a Stardust combo."

"Yeah, I remember! That was the best duel I've ever seen of yours," he chirped, enthusiasm pumping through his veins at the thought of his father's legendary combos. It never failed. Every time his father would duel, he'd be mesmerized by the surprises he could pull off. In the time since he'd arrived in the city at age eighteen, Jack Atlas—the World King of Duelists—had never been able to defeat him.

Though Seero had been called a genius—both off and on a runner—he knew his dueling ability paled in comparison to his father's. Even though he hadn't been an active duelist for the past twenty-eight years, his father still wiped the floor with him when they had a match.

The youth had made it his goal to one day beat his father.

In order to accomplish that, he knew he had to defeat some of the stronger duelists his father had beaten in the past, such as Jack Atlas, Crow Hogan, Kalin Kessler, Sherry LeBlanc, and the long-running Team Ragnarok, among others. The only way he was going to duel some of them would be if he managed to go pro. Though Crow would be happy to duel him without being a scheduled match, he still had a manager to appease.

Besides, it was Seero's dream to go pro. He wanted to make his parents proud and stand on his own among the world rankings. He knew his parents would support him no matter which path he chose, but dueling was his passion and he was determined to make it.

"Seero?"

He turned to glance at his father, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. "Yeah?"

He flashed an apologetic smile and nodded his head down the path to their right before starting down it. "Sorry we have to cut this short, but we gotta start heading back if I'm going to have time to shower before leaving."

The younger Fudo smiled said, "Nah, it's fine! I should probably check Brianne's flight to see if it's on time. And I still have to hook the sidecar onto Excalibur."

His father rolled his eyes and muttered, "You still haven't done that?"

Reaching up to scratch his head, he replied, "Well, I wasn't planning on oversleeping and missing the track today, and it's not like it takes long to set it up. Only if her fight is in, like, an hour early will it be a problem."

…

_My name is Brianne. Brianne Lilian Atlas. My father is the World King, Jack Atlas, and my mother is the top duel reporter known to the world, Carly Atlas. My father has money like no one's business, so I've grown up in a rather posh environment. Our estate is in a lavish countryside outside of Los Angeles. I've always had private tutors and never set foot in a school except for when I'm visiting my second family, the Fudos._

_Whenever my dad has a tournament that pulls him away from home—and it happens often—I go to stay with my best friend, Seero, my almost-sister, Kali, and their parents. It's hard for me to travel to new places because of my disability, so I just stay with them so I don't get lonely at home. My mom travels with my dad since her job keeps her on the tracks, anyway._

_Oh, I forgot to mention it before. I'm blind. I have been since I was born, so keeping to the places I know is easiest._

_The Fudos are really cool people, too. Dr. Yusei and Dr. If are both really kind and laid back with us. Seero's a total putz, but he's my best friend and I adore him. He was the first one to take me seriously as a duelist, so that's why we bonded so well. I was eight and he as nine when we met._

_See, as a child, I had this complex where I thought my dad hated me. I mean, he's not the most emotive person in the world to start with, but being the seven-year-old daughter of the World King gave me a lot to live up to. Rumors would fly from left to right, saying that Jack Atlas's daughter would be as magnificent a duelist as he is – maybe better._

_Except, because I was blind, I had never dueled in my life. I thought my dad resented me because I couldn't follow in his footsteps and make him proud. Sometime later, he surprised with a deck printed with Braille so I could use it. Being the cat lover that I am, he had Twin-Tigers set for me. It was the happiest day of my life when he personally taught me the rules and tactics. While it's true that I will never be able to turbo duel, at least I can duel._

_Just over a year later, my parents brought me to New Domino City to visit my dad's old friend, Yusei Fudo. Seero was an aspiring duelist in his own right, so we dueled. Rather than dismissing me because I was blind, he simply dueled as if I was any other opponent. We bonded that day and have been best friends since._

_My mom is convinced that we'll date, even though I keep telling her it'll never happen. Yes, she's a journalist with a great intuition, but sometimes I wonder. I mean, Seero's like my brother._

_Besides, there's…_

…

Brianne sat back in her cushy first-class seat on the plane, smiling in spite of herself as she listened to a recorded lesson on her phone. Her tutors had been quick to tell her that her trip to New Domino wasn't a vacation and that they had compiled lessons for her to listen to online and would check to make sure she had done her homework.

She sighed and leaned back, listening to the first of them on the plane because she knew she wouldn't remember once she got to her second home. The Fudos were extremely hospitable towards her and even gave her the spare bedroom for her use when she came.

Reaching out for the seat next to her, she slipped her fingers through the gated door of the carrier and murmured, "Don't worry, Nova! We'll be there soon!"

One of the perks to being incredibly wealthy was that she could buy an entire, four-seat private cabin for her flight when it was just her and her pet cat, Nova. She had gone with her mother to adopt a cat when she was ten years old and had chosen the kitten from an animal shelter, wanting to give a home to a kitten in need. The cat had been hers since the day she brought him home and it was her job to clean up after him and feed him.

It gave her a sense of independence when she got to take care of another, rather than be coddled all the time as the blind and frail heiress.

A knock sounded on her cabin door and, after a quick call of permission to enter, the door opened and a female voice said, "Excuse me, Miss Atlas. I'm here to inform you that we'll be landing soon and to ensure that you're buckled in for the descent."

It was Chelsea, the stewardess tipped extra by her father to ensure she received proper care and got where she was going. Nodding with a smile, Brianne replied, "Thank you! I appreciate your help!" She flashed a smile, silently griping about how she could buckle her own damn seatbelt. No point in getting bitchy with the poor woman. She was just doing her job. Surely she didn't want to wait hand and foot on a seventeen-year-old girl for the twelve-hour flight.

Almost a half-hour later, Chelsea came back into her cabin to help her get off the flight and walk her to her destination. Brianne stood up and, after asking the stewardess to get her carry-on, picked up Nova's carrier. Reaching out, she caught the stewardess's sleeve and moved to walk with her, mumbling a quick apology for needing her help.

Chelsea's voice sounded in front of her as she asked, "Excuse me, Miss. Where am I escorting you to?"

"My friend said he'd meet me by the gate. He said he would wear a black jacket and be holding a sign with my name. He said he'd be calling out to me, too, just in case no one walked me out." Seero really was a putz.

She smiled once again as she moved with the stewardess towards the exit of the plane. She always felt excited when returning to New Domino. Her friends were there and she felt so much freer when she could wander without being under the watchful eyes of her parents. Yes, she loved them to death, but sometimes they could get a little suffocating.

Little did she know, the biggest adventure of her life was about to begin.

* * *

So, who likes a little foreshadowing? What did you think? Just an intro, but we'll get into it soon enough XD For now, we meet two of the OCs, but more will come!

Oh, and I would like to add a note that Yusei's father's name is Katsuro Fudo and will be playing a part in this fic. He'll show a bit of a different personality than he had in SH ^_^ This one is far more adorable.

Please feel free to follow me on Facebook or Tumblr (all of the links are on my profile page)! I'm always happy to chat with you and answer questions, so don't be shy!

One last thing! I was thinking of getting a Livestream account and meeting up with you guys to do a Q&A sort of thing or just chat. If you'd be interested in doing something like this, please let me know what days of the week work best and what time frame! Please keep in mind that I'm in GMT -6, so your afternoons may not be the same as mine ^_^

Please let me know your thoughts on that and I'll see about setting up a time frame! I won't set it up until I have chapter two done, so if you just follow me on here, you shouldn't miss it :)

That said, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and I'll do my best to get you the second one as soon as possible!

Please review!

-Valk


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, everyone! We're back with chapter two! I'm so happy to see the positive reception so far! You guys make my days so much brighter, you know? It's only a starter to introduce some of the characters and set up the world this takes place in, so we probably won't get to anything _too_ exciting for a few chapters yet. But, trust me, I have _tons_ of excitement in store if you can hang on ;)

I'll follow the same formatting I used with _Sunset Horizon_ for thanking all of you lovely reviewers :) In one paragraph, I'll list the names of signed-in users since I reply via PM, and anons in the next paragraph with a bit of a reply. Though we haven't seen any yet, I do ask that, even if you don't have an account, that you write in a name on the anon form. It makes it much easier to reply than having 'guests' show up. I'd appreciate it!

That said, I would absolutely love to extend my thanks to **ValinNight, faithshipper24, ptd163,** and **Rapis-Razuri** for their wonderful and supportive reviews!

And then we have **LDC** signing in on anon! So great to see you again! Assuming you're the same LDC from SH, that is XD If not, please let me know! Otherwise, I'm so happy to see you and thanks for the review! As I said, the start will be a little slow, but we'll pick up the pace as we go :D

This fic was beta-read by the lovely **Rapis-Razuri**!

And here we see the first duel, which was scripted by the amazing **RealityRlySucks**! Since I'm a total novice when it comes to the game, I truly appreciate your talents!

Speaking of, I would totally love to hear your thoughts on the duel format! You know, how I described effects, listed ATK/DEF values, LP counts, etc. This format is subject to change, so I appreciate your honest opinion and any thoughts on improving it for easier reading!

That said, please enjoy!

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_**Dreamless Nightmare  
**_**Chapter 002**

_**Friday, January 7th**_

She sat at her desk, one elbow propped on the surface as her chin stayed propped in her hand. Her other hand rested beside the keyboard built into her station, her finger tapping impatiently on the metal. Sighing, she glanced up at the clock on the wall, waiting. Thirty seconds… Twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven…

She turned her attention back to the instructor as he droned on about the assignment they'd been preparing for all week. Finally, the bell rang out, causing her to quickly log out of her station and jump up from her seat.

"Miss Fudo, a word?"

…

_My name is Kali Fudo. I just turned sixteen three days ago, on January fourth. I'm a first year in high school at East Tops High. It's a nice school and I like it, but it gets a little lonely since I don't have any friends here._

_I'm just different and there aren't many people who understand that._

_I look like anyone else, but I have a condition that no one can explain. Well, not only did I inherit my mother's psychic duelist abilities, but I also have an aversion to Ener-D. No one knows what to call it or what causes it. There aren't any documented cases of this happening ever before. Yes, Ener-D is a somewhat recent discovery—roughly fifty years—but I'm still the first._

_Somewhere down the road, we started call it an 'allergy' to Ener-D. That's hardly the case, but it works. Plus, it makes it easier to talk about in public if we just refer to it as my allergies. What is it, you ask? It's really hard to explain, but the simplest way is to say it's an aversion to Ener-D._

_The activation of it nearby causes me a lot of pain. Even as little as a duel disk within two blocks can give me a headache to trump all migraines. It hurts so bad when that happens. That's why I don't go to Duel Academy with my friends. I would probably die within a day. Here at East Tops High, dueling isn't allowed on campus._

_I've adapted to the feel of it running through buildings for power and such. Steady flow doesn't really bother me much anymore, but sudden activity can be a problem. Even something as simple as turning on a shower causes me pain._

_Duel disks are a whole different story, though. The energy within them fluctuates dramatically during a duel. It spikes whenever a monster is summoned or a set card is activated, then drops suddenly when a monster is destroyed. It's bad. I literally cannot duel with a duel disk. I can ride a runner to get from point A to point B, but it's still incredibly painful. I tend to avoid it and walk everywhere when I can._

_My dad, Yusei Fudo, as the top researcher of Ener-D, set up filters through our home so we can shower and use the stove without giving me that burst of pain. Once we knew it worked, he set up the same thing at my friends' houses, too._

_My mom, Akiza Izinski-Fudo, has been trying to help me with my psychic powers, but it's not that much of a problem if I don't duel. If I don't use a duel disk, then I can't make them real, you know? Still, just in case something happens, I wear a barrette in the shape of a butterfly at all times to help with my powers._

_It's also because of my mom that we've had access to the best neurologists in the business to help with my condition. Since there's no known cure, the best we can do is carry sedatives in case my powers get too out-of-control. It has before. Everyone in my family and close circle of friends carries one or two at a time and my instructors keep some in case something happens at school._

_A friend of the family who attends college in the city has always looked out for me as a guardian of sorts, though my big brother has always, _always,_ been a huge support for me. He's always looked out for me and has taken care of me without asking for anything in return. We're closer than most siblings and some people think it's weird. We have been mistaken for a boyfriend and girlfriend in the past since we don't look that much alike._

_I'm pale as a ghost, he's the darkest one in the family. It's an easy mistake, but it's still incredibly awkward when it happens._

_Anyway, so that's a bit about me!_

…

She looked up at the sound of her instructor's voice and moved to the front of the classroom where he waited for her. "Yes, sir?"

He leaned against the teacher's podium and said, "I wanted to talk to you about setting up your first-year conference with your parents. It was supposed to be before winter break, but we never received a date and time from you."

She bit at her lip on instinct and replied, "I'm sorry, Mr. Setter. My parents have really difficult schedules to figure out. I'll talk to my mom tonight and report back tomorrow. Is that all right?"

He nodded. "That should be fine. Let's just try to get it done before the end of next week, all right? If need be, only one of your parents needs to attend."

"I understand, sir." He was one of her favorite teachers, but he could be a little too severe sometimes.

"All right, that's all I wanted to talk about. Have a safe trip home."

She nodded and gave a bow. "Thank you, sir!" she said, then turned to walk out the doors. Honestly, she didn't really mind the distraction. She never left school with everyone else since a lot of the upperclassmen rode duel runners to school. Though the campus had a strict 'no duel disk' policy, students were allowed to ride runners as long as they didn't duel on the grounds or bring the attached duel disks inside.

She had made a habit of going to the girls' room at the end of the day and hiding out in one of the stalls until the brunt of the headache passed, then going out when most of the students had left. Seero would usually be waiting for her to walk her home, and they'd make the twenty-minute trek across the Tops to get back to their expensive condo.

However, when she walked outside today, she was surprised to see Seero leaning against a fence with a blonde girl next to him. It took a short moment for her to recognize her before she ran forward with her arms out for a hug, screaming, "Briaaanne!"

The girl cocked her head at the sound and smiled. "I missed you, too, Kal- Ugh!" she grunted as she was tackled in a heavy hug.

Kali smiled and stepped back after greeting her almost-sister. "How are you, Brianne? I didn't know you were getting in today! This jerk-" she muttered, playfully punching her brother's shoulder, "told me you were coming next week!"

Seero frowned. "I don't think I deserved that."

The girls ignored him as Brianne replied, "I'm all right, Kali. My parents left the States for Europe four days ago, but this was the earliest flight I could get."

The dark-haired girl set her hands on her hips and smiled brightly. "Well, I'm glad you're here!"

Seero sighed heavily and waved a hand over his shoulder in the direction of their home. "Come on. I invited Faerie and Attie over for snacks and some duels."

Brianne's eyebrow rose skeptically. "Attie? Doesn't he, you know, kind of hate you?"

He grinned brightly and started walking, setting a hand on Brianne's arm to guide her. "Heh. Yeah, Faerie helped rope him into coming."

…

"Come on, slowpoke! You're dragging me down!"

"Don't give me that bullshit, Faerie. I'm just staying at your pace."

"Hah! Then let's see if you can keep up!" the teal-haired girl called over her shoulder, then gripped the throttle of her duel runner to speed up. She glanced over her shoulder to see the blue runner with yellow and purple details keeping up behind her. So, that's how he wanted to play, eh?

…

_Heya! I'm Faerie Lynn Hogan. Weird name, right? I was named after my mom's ace monster and friend, the Ancient Fairy Dragon. I go by 'Lynn' at school because it's annoying to get all the looks and explain. My friends and family call me 'Faerie,' though. Since we grew up together, they know that as my name and don't even think twice about it._

_That lug following me? That's my twin brother, Atticus Leonard Hogan. Despite how weird his name is, he'll get really bitchy if you call him anything other than 'Atticus.' Despite that, our friend, Seero, constantly calls him 'Attie.' I swear he's just trying to piss him off._

_Anyway, we're sixteen years old and on our tenth year of schooling at Duel Academy, the first year of high school classes. I don't know how, but he doesn't even show up for class half the time and he still gets better grades than I do. Wait, maybe I exaggerated that. He's lucky if he shows up once a week._

_He can really annoy me sometimes._

_Anyway, so we're twins. Besides the fact that we look almost the same, we're pretty much opposites in every way. I'm a girl, he's a guy. I use a fire-based deck, he uses ice. I'm outspoken and hotheaded, he's like a brick with emotions. Even so, we've always got each other's back in any situation. Except when he goes underground dueling. That's his problem. Even a sister has to draw her lines._

_Atticus has always been more about breaking the rules than I have. When we were thirteen, he went and dyed his formerly teal hair to a bright red. Beats me why. It only makes him look more like _him_._

_So, our parents are Crow and Ruka Hogan. Our dad is a famous duelist—among the top three solo duelists—who competes in tournaments around the world. Our mom is a grade school teacher who really is great with little kids. Because our dad is never home, Atticus and me started to resent him. What good is a father that's never there for his kids?_

_We have a little sister, too. Her name is Pearsy. Pearsy Regina Hogan. She was named after one of our dad's role models, a guy named Robert Pearson. Whatever. She's a sweetheart, a total doll in comparison to us twins. She actually likes our dad._

_Anyway, yeah. So we're pretty good friends with the kids of our parents' friends. Seero Fudo is my closest friend out of all of them because we like to tinker with our duel runners together, but I'm not super close to any of them._

_Oh, I forgot to mention it. I work after school in an auto shop. We repair everything from duel runners to cars, and we'll even take on small engines like lawn mowers, if needed. I learn a lot there and make some pretty decent money for a high schooler. It gets me what I need and keeps me from home for a few extra hours each day, anyway._

_So! That's where we're at now._

…

The pair of twins sped across the Daedalus Bridge, moving from their home in the former Satellite towards their friend's home in the Tops. Seero had invited them over for some duels after Brianne Atlas had come back into town and she had decided to take him up on the offer. After guilting her brother into joining her, they set out for the fancy condo in the center of the city.

It didn't take much longer for the two of them to reach their destination. Turning into the parking garage placed beneath the complex, they drove to the back for the guest parking and stopped in two adjacent spaces.

Faerie climbed off of her yellow runner and shifted to pull off her helmet, leaving the duel disk in place. No point in bringing it. They couldn't use it around Kali, anyway. Glancing over her shoulder, she made sure her brother was following with his own helmet under his arm as they moved up towards the booth where the building security stayed. As they approached, a man in a crisp beige suit and a matching hat stepped out and asked, "How may I help you?"

Faerie flashed a quick smile and, knowing her brother wouldn't engage in any unnecessary social interactions, said, "Seero invited us for some duels, Jackson."

Every friend of the Fudo family knew the gate manager, Jackson. He was there every day from ten in the morning until ten at night. To this day, Faerie still wasn't sure if he had a social life or if Jackson was even his first or last name. Regardless, he was a friendly face who took an effort to talk to all of the regular guests of the building.

He offered a short bow and said, "Of course. One moment, please." He turned and stepped back into his booth and slid the glass door shut before picking up a phone and pressing a single button. He didn't have to tell them what he was doing. It was practically routine for the guests of anyone who lived in a condo. The gate manager would call the floor expecting the guests, and they would give confirmation to let them up. It was a simple security measure.

A moment later, Jackson walked back out of his booth and gestured towards the elevator, saying, "Mr. Fudo awaits."

"Great! Thanks, Jackson!" she chirped, moving over to the parting doors. Once she and Atticus got inside, Jackson moved back to his booth and turned the key to give them access to apartment C32. The ride up thirty-two floors took a while, but it was spent in comfortable silence between the two siblings.

Finally, the doors split to reveal the entry to the Fudo home and Seero coming out of the kitchen with a plate of snack food. Grinning brightly, the ebon-haired teen greeted, "Hey, guys! Come on in!"

The two of them made quick work of their shoes and followed their friend into the sitting room, where Kali and Brianne sat at a table with a duel in progress. A quick glance at their whiteboard used for counting Life Points revealed Kali to be at 1300 and Brianne at 1400. Kali's field was empty, while Brianne had Twin-Tiger Sabertooth (3/1400/800), her ace, Twin Tiger Beastmaster (7/2700/1800), and a facedown.

The teal-haired girl sat down on the couch next to Brianne to watch over her shoulder, wondering if Kali could turn this around. The girl had the genes of two to the greatest duelists, but she didn't get a lot of practice since she could only play tabletop.

Placing her fingers on the top of her deck, Kali announced, "My turn! Draw!" Slipping the top card off, she glanced down at her hand of four cards before plucking one and setting it in the Field Card Zone. "I activate Gothic Tarot – World of XXI! With its effect, I special summon Gothic Tarot – Magician of I (1/300/500)."

Faerie set her hand in her chin as she mused. Gothic Tarot – World of XXI let her special summon one level four or lower Gothic Tarot monster from her hand each turn. Adding in that Gothic Tarot – Magician of I was a tuner… She might be able to turn this around, after all.

Kali continued, saying, "Next, I normal summon Gothic Tarot – Ace of Roses (?/?/?). Because of its effect, it becomes level three like Sabertooth. Its secondary effect activates, allowing me to special summon Gothic Tarot – Death of XIII (7/2400/0) from my graveyard!"

Her Ace of Roses was an interesting card. It was one that had to be used when strategy called for it. It was a card with no level, attack, or defense of its own, but copied the opponent's card opposite its position. It had to be played in the first available position and if there wasn't a monster opposite, it would default to level one with zero attack and defense. With each different level, it gained a different ability. At level three, Ace of Roses was able to special summon one Gothic Tarot monster from her graveyard. There were three other 'Ace' cards that worked similarly, but had different effects.

"I activate the effect of Death of XIII! By tributing a monster on my side of the field, I can destroy one of yours. I sacrifice Ace of Roses to destroy your Beastmaster!" she said, moving to set her card in the Graveyard as Brianne glided her fingers over the Braille to make sure she put the right card in hers. "Now, Magician of I tunes Death of XIII in order to synchro summon Gothic Tarot – Judgment of XX (8/2600/1900)! Because Magician of I was used as synchro material for another Gothic Tarot monster, the Synchro gains one thousand attack points!"

Thirty-six-hundred attack points. This was turning around in Kali's favor quickly. Not to mention, she'd easily destroyed Brianne's best monster with an effect. However, there was still the factor of Brianne's set card. What did she have in store?

Atticus sat sideways on one of the couches with his feet resting on the armrest, helping himself to some of the veggies from the snack tray while watching the match. He was silent as usual, but something in her twin brother's eye told Faerie that he already knew the outcome.

Kali bit her lip and said, "I activate the effect of Gothic Tarot – Judgment of XX! Once per turn, I can glance at the top card of my deck. If you guess the type correctly, I send it to the Graveyard. Otherwise, I add it to my hand and you discard the top card from your deck."

"Before that," Brianne cut in, "I activate my trap, Twin-Tiger's Ambush! When you try to activate a monster effect while I have a Twin-Tiger monster on the field, I can tribute my monster to negate the effect and destroy your monster. I tribute Sabertooth to destroy Judgment of XX!"

Her face fell for a quick moment, but she covered it up as she moved her card to the Graveyard and said, "I set one card and end my turn."

"I draw," Brianne said, adding a card from her deck to her hand and brushing her fingers over the name to read it. "From my hand, I activate Twin-Tiger Monolith. Then, I tribute it to activate White Twin-Tiger Monolith!"

Faerie had wondered what she was up to when she'd activated Twin-Tiger Monolith. Its effect allowed her to normal summon two Twin-Tiger monsters in one turn instead of normal summoning any other monster. White Twin-Tiger Monolith was an upgraded version that could only be played when the base version was tributed. It had the same effect, but gave all Twin-Tiger monsters on her side of the field an additional five hundred attack points.

"Next, I summon Twin-Tiger Chronicler (3/800/800) from my hand. With the effect of White Monolith, it gains five hundred attack for a total of thirteen hundred! Your field is empty, Kali. Chronicler attacks directly."

She flipped her set card, saying, "I activate my trap, Gothic Tarot – Justice of VIII! When I receive damage, you take the same amount!"

Kali – 0

Brianne – 100

Brianne smiled and clapped her hands together, saying, "I still win! If only my chronicler had a hundred more attack points… Then we would have tied! Good game, Kali. You're getting really good!"

"Thanks!" she chirped as she started stacking her deck again. "I've been making Seero practice with me more than ever now."

Faerie grinned. "Nice! I wish my useless brother would practice with me."

Atticus only rolled his eyes and muttered, "We know each other's decks inside and out. A duel between us is just a pointless waste of time."

She shrugged. "It's still practice."

Seero looked up from where he'd sat next to his sister. "All right, then! Who wants to duel our champion?"

Atticus popped a baby carrot in his mouth and leaned back on the armrest. "This is boring. We need a real competition."

Faerie shot her brother a dark look and said, "By all means, give us a real competition, then."

Without saying a word, he reached a hand in the back pocket of his black skinny jeans and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Tossing it towards the rest of them, he rolled to lay on his side with his back to them and muttered. "There."

Seero snatched it up and unfolded it, reading the letters off the small poster, "'Annual Youth Tournament sponsored by Urbanomics. Welcoming all duelists from ages fifteen to eighteen to participate in a mixed match of both standing and riding duels. Signups are due by January fifteenth. Come test your mettle against other…' Blahblahblah…" He looked up at the begrudged teen lying on the couch and said, "Dude! Why haven't you mentioned this before?! A sponsored tournament? There could be scouts at something like this! I am so in! Anyone with me?"

Kali just smiled and sat back, tucking her knees against her chest as she watched her friends for their reactions. Brianne cocked her head and asked, "When is it?"

Seero glanced down at the poster again and said, "Uh… January twenty-first and twenty-second."

The blonde smiled and said, "I'm in! I know for sure that I'll be here through January. Maybe longer."

Faerie shrugged. "Might as well. I wonder if Jules would want to join?"

Kali shook her head. "He can't. He just turned nineteen in October."

"Oh, yeah…" she murmured. "It was worth a shot, at least. He could use a break from all of his Uni work."

Seero grinned and looked back at the poster. "You guys have no idea how excited I am for this."

Atticus groaned and pulled a throw pillow over his head, grumbling, "I never know how excited you are for anything, Seerotonin."

Faerie stretched her small stature as far as she could to slap her brother over the back of the head, then turned back to the others and said, "Well, ignoring that jerk, I'm excited, too!"

* * *

All right! Now we meet Seero's little sister and Crow's and Luna's twins! What are your thoughts? Seero will be the main-main character (akin to Yusei in the anime), but these others will be main characters (like the rest of Team 5D's), so I'm hoping to introduce them at a comprehensive pace.

Oh, and I'd like to apologize for all of the thematic cards. The decks are still in development, so they don't have a lot of spells or traps that branch out of their archetypes just yet ^_^

Also, in case anyone is curious (and I think I mentioned this in the last chapter), I posted some old sketches and non-spoiler profiles of the characters on my Facebook! There's a link to my page on my FFnet profile if you're interested :) I've also been working on a newer, digital set of full-body images that I've been posting on both DeviantART and my Facebook, so you can see those there, too. Again, I won't ask names.

I'm also on Tumblr if you'd like to follow me or chat with me! The links to my two blogs are on my profile, too.

I'm serious about that Livestream I mentioned! Is anyone interested? I would love to connect! For those of you who may not know, I'd be the only one on camera in that. You guys would just be names in a chatbox, so don't be worried about me stalking you. I wouldn't do that, anyway, but I digress.

So, yeah! Talk to me! I'm totally open to answering questions and making friends!

Please review!

-Valk

P.S. Friendly reminder: Please let me know what you thought of the duel format! Was it easy to follow? Would you prefer arrows showing old LP to new? I am totally open to suggestions and comments! Thank you so much!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three is here! Yay!

I'm actually really hungry and in desperate need of a shower right now, so let's keep this short and sweet, shall we?

My thanks go out to **ValinNight, ptd163, yusei X akiza fan, **and **just3because3**! Thank you guys sooo much for taking the time to review!

Many thanks to **Rapis-Razuri** for her amazing beta work!

Oh, and I want to offer a little warning… Probably won't bother most of you, and it's not graphic, but, well, en garde!

That said, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

_**Dreamless Nightmare  
**_**Chapter 003**

_**Saturday, January 8th**_

Brianne sat on a metal cabinet in the garage, listening as Seero and Faerie messed around with their runners. She had decided to keep them company to pass the time until Kali got home from school, but quickly found that there was nothing to do for a blind girl in a garage. She had gone with them before, but never ceased to forget how boring it could be. The two of them were mostly silent while at work, and she pretty much relied on sound to function.

Well, sound and smell, but she really didn't want to think about the smell of the garage.

Finally, the sound of Seero's voice spoke, saying, "That should do it! I can't wait to see what Excalibur can do now!"

The sound of Faerie standing up hit her ears as the other girl muttered, "Think that new chip will do the trick?"

"Yep! Nothing's going to stop me now!"

"Except for speed limits."

"I meant on the track!"

Brianne stayed silent, listening to their conversation. There was something in her best friend's voice that would soften when he spoke to Faerie. It probably wasn't even noticeable to anyone else, but since she had been so reliant on hearing her whole life, she had developed the sense better than others. She wasn't even sure if Faerie was aware or not, but one thing was for sure.

Her best friend had a crush.

Possibly more than that, given the length of time that it had been going on. She was pretty sure that he'd had a crush on Faerie since he was old enough to feel romantic attraction. There had to have been visual cues that clued others into his feelings since everyone seemed to know.

Other than Faerie herself.

Seero seemed to be clueless that anyone else knew, but it really was hard to miss. She had made several wagers in the past with his family about when he might confess. Thus far, those gambits remained failures, resulting in several forms of dessert on Kali's behalf and dinners out on Yusei, Akiza, and Jack's credit card.

The pattern had to break eventually. Brianne truly wanted her best friend to be happy with the girl he liked, but she couldn't be sure that Faerie even felt the same or not. As far as she'd observed, the girl hadn't even started to show interest in boys yet. She just hoped that all of Seero's feelings wouldn't be wasted. He really was a total sweetheart and he would treat Faerie well if she gave him the chance.

She sighed heavily and leaned back on the cabinet again. What was a girl to do?

"You okay, Brianne?"

She perked up at the sound of her name, cocking her head in the direction of Seero's voice. She supposed she sighed a little too loudly. Flashing a smile, she said, "Oh, I'm fine. I guess I'm just a little bored."

Mentally sighing this time, she couldn't help but wonder how he could be so dense. Or Faerie, for that matter. How had she not noticed the way he fawned over her? Or maybe she did notice, knew she didn't feel anything in return, and pretended not to see in order to spare his feelings.

Brianne preferred to think the girl was just dense.

Faerie sighed before the sound of her coat being picked up and tugged on sounded against the blind girl's ears. Her voice sounded out a moment later, saying, "Hey, sorry to bolt, but I have to get to work at one. With luck, I'll get a chance to ask Oshiro-san for the weekend of the tournament off."

After they exchanged farewells, Seero's voice sounded out with, "Well, we have about two hours before Kali gets out of school. Want to head back home so we can park, grab some lunch, and head out?"

She nodded and slid off of the cabinet, saying, "Sure! I'm famished!"

…

"Ooh, feel this, Brianne!" Kali cried, grabbing the sleeve of a white shirt and pressing it into the palm of her friend's hand. After they had gotten home from school, Seero had decided to stay in and start on dinner, since he had apparently promised a good meal to their father, while the girls went out shopping.

Kali was excited to have some girl-time with someone again. She didn't have any friends at school and, though she loved to go out with her mother, she was always busy with work. She had barely seen her mother that morning before she bolted out the door, calling that she was late for work.

Both of her parents had a habit of being late. It made her wonder where she got her sense of timeliness from.

Her friend smiled and moved to rest her white cane against her arm as she reached out to feel the design of the shirt. "I like it! What color is it?"

It had become routine that she would only own clothes that were white and purple so she could dress herself with minimal chances of mismatching. She smiled and pulled the shirt off the rack and held it up in front of Brianne, saying, "It's white. It'll go with your clothes perfectly!"

They continued to shop in various stores of varying kinds. Brianne was especially fond of thrift stores, since she could go and feel random things and take a guess as to what it was. As they exited one such store with their hands full of purchases, they froze as a rough voice called out, "Oyyy…! Atlas! Fudo!"

A few murmurs sounded out from random people, asking about someone shouting the two most famous names in turbo dueling history as others mumbled that someone was just watching a TV special. Kali looked up at the sound of her name, spying a man a year older than her with white, chin-length hair, leaning against a black and dark green duel runner and a hand held up to catch their attention.

Kali caught Brianne's arm and walked her over to the guy, saying, "Fleming? What brings you here?"

Her friend stiffened slightly as the guy, Fleming, nodded towards the small shop behind them. "My brother needed to get some groceries and, well, that stuff isn't my cup of tea, so I decided to wait out here." Turning slightly, he addressed the blind girl and said, "I heard you were in town, so I 'cided to come up to the city and pay a visit."

Kali looked back at the health food store Fleming had nodded to and asked, "So, you're staying with Julian, then?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I might as well, you know? My mom bought him a two-bedroom condo while he goes to Uni, so no point in gettin' a hotel or nothing, right?"

The door to the store opened behind them and a tall man walked out, looking almost identical to the one beside the runner, but with long, black hair tied in a low ponytail. He had golden eyes, while the other had pale blue. Fleming was dressed in casual gear for riders, the other was wearing a long, brown coat and leather cowboy boots.

Kali flashed a smile and said, "Hey, Julian! Fancy meeting you here."

He offered a gentle smile back as he paused beside the girl, towering a full twenty centimeters taller. He held a bag of groceries in one arm easily and replied, "Hey, how have you been?"

"Great!" She smiled and turned away, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Hey, do you guys want to come over for dinner? Seero's cooking and he always makes too much. I mean, it's not often that the Kessler brothers are here."

Julian Kessler frowned slightly and asked, "What's he making?"

The girl smiled and shrugged. "Beats me, but you could always make whatever you'd make at your place if it doesn't suit your diet."

He nodded slowly. "True… Are you sure your parents won't mind?"

She shook her head quickly. "Not at all! They love having everyone over!"

He turned to his brother and asked, "Fleming, what do you say?"

Fleming grinned and shifted to lean back against his runner, saying, "I dunno… I could really go for a city pizza. We don't get a lot of those out in Satisfaction Town."

Brianne perked up and said, "Oh! Could I join you? I could go for a pizza, too!"

Julian cringed visibly, but, before he could interject, Kali said, "That's fine! I'll let Seero know."

…

_Hello, my name is Julian Kessler. I'm nineteen years old and just working on finishing my first year at Uni. I'm studying sports medicine and physical therapy in the hopes of being able to help people in the future._

_I have a younger brother named Fleming who's still in high school, but he studies online through a charter. He'll occasionally come up to visit me here in the city now that I live here. Before I came here, we lived together in our parents' house in Satisfaction Town. It's a small town under the jurisdiction of the New Domino mayor, but our father is the unofficial leader._

_His name is Kalin Kessler. I haven't gotten the full story, but the people in town call him the 'Shinigami Hero.' He was old friends with Kali's, Brianne's, and Faerie's fathers, so that connection is how I came to know them. My mother's name is Misty Kessler, but has the stage name of Misty Tredwell. She was a model in her younger years, but switched to a musical career where she started to record ballads. She still does the occasional show or tour, but stays home with us for the most part._

_I have an aunt and uncle, too, on my dad's side. Their names are Nico and West Emery. They're brother and sister, not husband and wife. Neither of them are married, though Aunt Nico is currently working in America with a boyfriend while Uncle West lives in Satisfaction Town with a friend of his named Ginga._

_My friends call me a health nut, but I don't think it's wrong to be concerned about what I ingest. So I eat natural foods and don't touch things coated in antioxidants and pesticides. I just wish they would care, too. It just isn't healthy to eat most of what they do. All I can really do is try to get them to jog it off when they're done, but I think they're all getting sick of me asking them._

_I work out, too, to stay fit. I am happy that Seero goes for a run every day, at least, but a little weightlifting wouldn't kill him. I go to the gym in my complex for a good two hours a day. It used to be three or four, but my studies got too excessive and I had to cut back. I can always work more when classes are over._

_I'm the oldest of all of my friends, so I'm usually thought of as the leader. I won't lie, I tend to be overprotective of Kali. She's like a little sister to me and, adding in her condition, she could use an extra pair of eyes on her. I may not be her biological brother like Seero, but I'll always take care of her. Hell, I'll take care of all of my friends. And my brother, but he's really stubborn about accepting help._

…

Julian steered his large, dark blue and white runner down the streets, leaning back against the seat as Kali sat in front of him. She was practically on his lap, hugging his bag of groceries as she fought with her headache from the Ener-D.

He frowned, wishing he hadn't taken his runner for a shopping trip. She was all right with riding one, but it still gave her a rough headache. At the same time, she shouldn't be left alone in case her abilities went too far, and Brianne and Fleming were leaving to get their pizza. He hadn't wanted to leave his duel runner in the middle of the shopping district, which left them in their current predicament.

He wasn't sure if going faster to get to their destination more quickly would be beneficial or not, but he did know that maintaining a steady speed would be best for her. When the levels of Ener-D fluctuated, it caused her more pain. She had long since confirmed that suddenly changing speeds on a duel runner gave such a spike in energy.

Even so, he still wanted to get her home before something bad happened.

As he came up to the building where the Fudo family lived, he quickly pulled into a parking space and cut the power on his runner. Sitting still, he waited for her to move to determine it was all right as she slowly slid off his lap. Offering a weak smile, she said, "Thanks for getting me home, Julian. I know it's never fun to ride when I'm around…"

He shifted to stand up with her and shook his head with exasperation. Reaching out, he ran a hand through her hair playfully and said, "Don't worry about that. Are you all right?"

She offered a smiled and dip of her chin. "Yup! Actually, it didn't hurt that bad at all!"

It might have been because he knew her so well, but he was almost certain that she was putting on a brave face. He decided not to comment on it and instead nodded towards the elevator, saying, "Come on, let's go up."

She nodded with a smile and turned for the gate, pausing as she started to stumble. He caught her arm easily and cast a wary look, asking, "Are you sure you're all right?"

She frowned and pulled her arm from his hold, then moved to hand him his bag of groceries before snapping, "I said I'm fine! When will you stop treating me like a baby? I'm sixteen now!"

He held the bag in one hand and raised the other in surrender. "I'm sorry. I'm just concerned since I brought you my runner. I feel responsible if you're not all right."

She crossed her arms in a huff and turned away, grumbling something under her breath that he couldn't quite make out. He suppressed the urge to sigh and shake his head, instead nodding his head towards the elevator for her to lead the way. She caught his signal and turned away, walking towards it with stamped feet.

She didn't need to remind him that she was sixteen. Not in the least.

He followed after her with a slight smile, unable to think less of her for her tantrums. She did get rather spoiled, even if she wasn't entirely aware of it. Her condition made it hard for her to go places, so others tended to do things for her when needed. He was sure that she hated being coddled and wanted to be normal, but she never hesitated to put up a strong front and hide her loneliness.

They waved a greeting to Jackson as they moved into the fancy elevator before Kali pulled a ring of keys from the carabineer under her belts. She slipped one into the keyhole next to the label for C32 and turned it, allowing them access to the Fudo household. They rose in semi-comfortable silence until the doors parted and gave way for a heavenly scent drifting towards their noses.

Seero's cooking could sometimes make even Julian want to drop his diet once in a while.

The two of them moved into the kitchen to find Seero at work with kneading dough. Julian wondered what he was making and, more so, what was in it.

"Oh, Julian. I didn't know you were coming over."

He turned towards the breakfast table were Kali's mother, Dr. Akiza Izinski-Fudo—known as 'Dr. If' to himself and their friends—sat with paperwork spread out. Whether she was keeping her son company or enjoying the smell of dinner was a toss-up. He offered a smile and moved through the kitchen to make sure he wouldn't be in Seero's way before saying, "I apologize for the intrusion, Dr. If. Kali and I ran into each other downtown and she invited me over. I hope it isn't a problem."

She waved her hand and the patient report within as a dismissal, saying, "It's fine! It's great to see you once in a while. But…" she started, glancing behind him at her children pestering one another. "Where's Brianne? I had an emergency delivery to tend to last night, so I didn't get to see her much yet."

Julian ignored the siblings for the time being, knowing that he would regret it if he got involved. Part of him knew he would have to take Kali's side in the issue and another part of him knew that Seero would be pissed if she ruined his meal. Best to stay out of that one. Addressing his own mother's best friend, he said, "She was-"

"Mom!" Kali called, moving over and plunking down in one of the open seats. "I've been doing some thinking…"

"That never ends well," sounded Seero's voice from the kitchen proper.

She glared and stuck her tongue out in his direction, even though his back was turned. Facing her mother again, she clasped her hands together and practically begged, "Can I enter the tournament with the others? Please…?"

Julian's eyebrows rose as he silently listened, waiting to see what her mother would say. Sighing, the doctor leaned back in her chair and dropped her report on the table. The documents were classified, but she had long since learned that no one in her family or friends cared enough to snoop. She combed her fingers through her long bangs as she considered her response, then finally said, "Kali… Are you sure you can handle it?"

The girl looked slightly crestfallen before picking herself up and nodding furiously. "Mm! I mean, I still get headaches from duels, but I can do it! I know I can!"

Her mother reached out and set a hand on her daughter's arm, saying, "I trust you when you say you can handle the headache, but can you control the psychic powers? I didn't have your allergies and I still had a horrible time learning to control my powers."

Biting her lip, the younger girl folded her fingers together and murmured, "Well… I _think_ can, but the only way for me to learn to control them is to try using a duel disk, right?"

"I would say it's all right, but I don't want you going in there alone. I want you to have someone you can count on to help you. I already promised Seero that your father and I would be there to watch, so we can't do it. If you can find someone who can, then we'll talk."

Julian shrugged slightly and said, "I'll do it. I'll take care of her if she needs it. I'm too old to enter the tournament, and Fleming won't care if I'm there for him or not."

Akiza nodded once and held up a hand. "Two final conditions. I want you to enter anonymously. That way, if something does happen, you'll be able to go to school like normal and no one will think differently of you. The second is that you practice with a duel disk in the time before the tournament and see how you fare. If it's too hard, then I want you to withdraw. Understood?"

The girl nodded, her blue eyes bright. "Yes! I understand! Thank you so much, Mom!" she cried, jumping out of her chair and tackling her mother with a hug.

Julian couldn't help but wonder what he'd just signed himself up for, but if it meant helping Kali with something she really wanted, then that was what was important.

…

The girl before him pulled back with a gasp, her hands clasped firmly in his hair. She sat over his legs, straddling his waist, as she struggled to breathe. Leaning closer, she touched her forehead to his and whispered, "I missed you, Fleming."

Fleming's rough hands ran down her sides, making her shiver, as he murmured, "I missed you, too, Brianne." He stole another kiss quickly, then drew back and said, "We really gotta start thinkin' of better excuses than pizza."

She gave a soft, melodic giggle as she bumped her nose against his. "I really hope I'll be able to stay longer this time."

Reaching up, he cupped her cheek in his hand and pulled her the single centimeter needed to kiss her again before opening his eyes and looking into her unseeing ones. "I love you. I said it before and I'll say it again."

She bit her lip slightly and leaned back slowly, her hands moving from his hair and drifting down to stroke his chest. "Fleming, I…"

He frowned, moving to comb his fingers through her hair comfortingly. Whatever was bothering her, he wanted to know so he could fix it. He wasn't the best boyfriend, but, gods be damned, he tried. "What is it, Brianne? What's botherin' you?"

She turned her head, facing away from him. In most couples, an action like that could mean very bad things, but she did that so she could hear better. It was actually a sign that she was latched onto the conversation and wasn't going to dismiss his input. "It's just… Well… _Why_ do you love me, Fleming?"

He sighed once, then reached out to run his fingers through her hair. "Why ask somethin' ridiculous like that? I love you 'cause you're you, Brianne! You're witty, charmin', sweet, beautiful… You don't run away cryin' from my foul language – and some have before. You don't let my racin' bother you. Rather, you're right there, riding behind me. You're the best girl I've ever met!"

A tiny smile started to form on her lips as she murmured, "And me being blind doesn't bother you?"

It had at first, but he'd since adapted to using touch to convey his feelings rather than expressions and saying what was on his mind instead of expecting her to take visual cues. But now… "No, it doesn't. It's just another thing that makes you who you are."

Her smile spread until it stretched across her face, causing her to lean forward and wrap her arms around his shoulders tightly. "I love you, too, Fleming!"

He embraced her tightly in return, grateful that the girl felt the same about him as he did for her. He couldn't even remember when his feelings for her had started or when their relationship had become exclusive. They kept it a secret because they both knew that her father would go berserk if her found out a rough street kid like himself was seeing his precious daughter. Never mind that his father was an old friend of hers, he was still sure he would face certain death if Jack Atlas ever learned of their relationship.

He couldn't help but chuckle as he asked, "What brought this on, anyway? Not like you to be so worried."

She froze slightly in his arms and drew back, murmuring, "Well, that's… I wanted to make sure before…"

He frowned. Before what? He shifted to draw her back to his lap and wrapped one arm around her waist and settled his other hand on the back of her neck. Drawing her closer, he slowly glided his lips over hers before sealing them together. He loved the way she melted against him when he did that.

They remained that way until the need for breath arose, causing them to part reluctantly. Their foreheads touched together and their noses bumped as they both tried to regain their breaths. It was silent until she slowly spoke, saying, "Fleming, I… I'm ready."

He paused and drew back slowly to look at her expression. "What're you-?"

"To take the next step," she said, cutting him off. "I… I want to be with you, in every way and at every moment."

Inhaling deeply, the white-haired seventeen-year-old took a moment to think before replying. There was only one thing should could have been referring to, wasn't there? He'd wanted it for a while, but he didn't want to pressure her into something she wasn't ready for. Inhaling deeply, he carefully asked, "Are you sure?"

She bit at her lip and nodded. "Mm-hm… I told my mom that I was having irregular periods so I could get birth control… My dad doesn't know, and I don't know if my mom bought it, but it worked either way, so-"

He cut her off with a kiss, hoping that they weren't getting into something stupid. His hands slid down her slender frame before stopping at the backs of her thighs and gripping to hold her as he stood up. Drawing back from the kiss, he murmured, "I'll ask one more time. You're sure?"

She didn't reply, but instead moved her hands from his shoulders to slip down his chest and gripped the hem of his shirt as she tried to pull it off. He knew he was blushing as he murmured, "Hang on a second… Let's go to my room first. I don't think Julian would like find us on the couch."

She froze slightly, a blush burning at her own cheeks. "O-oh… Right…"

He quickly pressed a kiss to her neck before shifting slightly to whisper in her ear, "I'm nervous, too, so don't worry. We're in this together."

* * *

So, yeah… Who saw that coming? Some of you said you were excited for the fluff to start, so… There you go :) That's about as frickle-frackly as I'll get in this fic. Don't be expecting anything more and don't ask me for more.

Anyyywayyy… Fleming has an odd way of speaking. I'll probably explain it further down the road, so stay tuned on that one. It may be subject to change, too.

That said, I'd like to turn your attention over to my beta, Rapis-Razuri, and her own 5D's next-gen fic entitled _Inheritance_. She literally just posted chapter four, but it shows a great deal of promise and I urge you to check it out! By the way, she uses the same parent pairings I do :D

Now I'm going to shut up and post so you guys can enjoy!

Please review!

-Valk

P.S. Feel free to stop by my Facebook or tumblr if you want! The links are on my profile! =3


	4. Chapter 4

Heya! How's it going? We have an update! Yay!

The ending of the last chapter seemed to catch a few people off-guard, but that's just how I like it :D I have hope that a few other plot elements will catch you guys unawares, too. As I said, that last chapter is as far as I'll go into the adult content, no worries if graphic stuff makes you uncomfortable. If you like it, then I apologize, but you'll have to look elsewhere :)

Many thanks go out to **ValinNight, yusei X akiza fan, ptd163, just3because3,** and **Animegirl426** for their awesome reviews! Thank you guys sooo much for the support so far!

My apologies for not having a real update schedule… I'm just updating as I write and I never know when I'll have time to do so. Please bear with me!

My thanks go out to **Rapis-Razuri** for her lovely beta work! And an honorable mention for **RealityRlySucks** for assistance with writing duels! We'll see the first real one in the next chapter, so hang tight!

Enjoy!

* * *

_**Dreamless Nightmare  
**_**Chapter 004**

_**Sunday, January 9th**_

Brianne stirred in her sleep at the sound of an incessant ringing from across the room. Was that her phone? Something behind her moved with a slight grunt before a voice muttered, "I'll get it for you."

The sleep vanished from her mind in an instant as she jumped to a sitting position and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. That... had really happened last night, hadn't it?

The bed sank in next to her before his hand took hers and set the phone in her hand. "It's Seero."

He didn't have to tell her. She had a different ringtone set for her friends so she would know who was calling. Nodding, she took the phone and tapped the answer key before holding up to her ear and saying, "Hey..."

His voice sounded back in a panicked shout, crying, "Where are you, Brianne? You didn't come home at all last night and I've been worried because I thought you got lost somewhere without your phone and-"

She cut him off, saying, "Seero, calm down. I'm fine. I'm at..." She paused. Where _could_ she say she was?

Before she could think of an excuse, the phone slipped out of her hand as her companion took it. She had a feeling he was smiling as he said, "Mornin', Seero. Great day, eh?"

It was dead silent for a moment as she assumed Seero replied, but then the sound of his voice over speaker cried out, "_Fleming? _What the hell?! Why are you there?! And why didn't Brianne text me to let me know where she was?!"

Brianne couldn't help but chuckle as she called out, "You're on speaker, Seero."

He paused for a long moment, then slowly said, "Explain to me what happened? And why couldn't you text me, Brianne?"

She opened her mouth to explain, but paused as Fleming spoke first, "We were, eh… a tad distracted, mate. Contactin' you wasn't our first priority."

Brianne felt her face heat up and bit her lip. Oh, gods… What would Seero make of that statement? It was loaded with the suggestion of what happened.

Silence reigned for another long moment as he tried to figure out what to say. Finally, he gasped and made a sound of disgust, understanding, and horror mixed into one inhuman cry. "Oh, _gods_!' he sputtered. "You two are-? Hell! I did _not_ need to know that! I just ate breakfast!"

He continued to gag as Fleming lowered his voice to address Brianne, "Well, I'd say the cat's outta the bag, now, love."

She gave a nervous chuckle as she pulled the blankets around her neck for warmth. "So now what? Once Seero knows, it's only a matter of time before everyone knows… including my parents."

He paused before Seero's voice suddenly cut out, leaving her to assume he'd hung up the call. A light 'thunk' sounded as he set her phone on the nightstand and shifted to wrap his arms around her. "I dunno, Brianne. But, if anything happens, we'll get through it. I love you."

She smiled and embraced him back, silently relishing in the feel of his bare chest. "I know. I love you, too, Fleming. But I'm still scared of what my dad might do. What if he keeps me from ever coming back to Japan again?"

His finger touched against her lips as he hummed a light shush. "Don't worry, Brianne. He may be Jack Atlas, known for being a jackass everywhere, but he'll listen. He's not so cruel that he'd pull apart two people who're in love, would he?"

She bit at her lip. She really wasn't sure. Her father was overly protective of her, but how far would he take it? Then again, maybe she could convince Seero to keep his mouth shut. Fat chance of that, though. It wasn't that he was a tattletale, but he was the worst liar ever. If someone asked him what was wrong and, even if he tried to make an excuse, they would see right through it.

She couldn't help it as she groaned and leaned to rest her head against his shoulder. "I don't want to leave…"

He gave a soft chuckle and murmured, "I was jus' gonna say that we could go get a cup of coffee or somethin'."

She turned to tuck her forehead against the crook of his neck and murmured, "I meant that I don't want to leave you. Coffee sounds wonderful."

…

_**Monday, January 17th**_

Seero jogged up to the door of the shop before pulling the door open and walking up to the desk, greeting, "Hey, there!"

The Indian man behind the desk offered a smile and said, "Hello! What can I do for you?"

The teen grinned and leaned on the high desk. "I'm a friend of, uh…" He scratched the back of his head, trying to remember Faerie's middle name. He knew she didn't go by 'Faerie' at her job, but he couldn't remember her middle name for the life of him. "Uh… Hogan," he said at last, hoping to get a clue.

The guy leaned back from his computer and asked, "You mean Lynn?"

He perked up and snapped his fingers. Lynn! That was it! "Yeah, Lynn! She goes by a different name in our group of friends."

Nodding, the man moved over to the door leading to the backroom before calling, "Hey! Lynn! Your boyfriend's here to see you!"

Seero felt a slight blush burn when the guy referred to him as Faerie's boyfriend, but fought it back as she came out of the garage. With a roll of her eyes, she wiped her dirty hands on a rag and muttered, "He's not my boyfriend, Sanjay." Addressing Seero, she said, "Ignore him. Anyway, what brings you to my corner of the world?"

He chuckled a laugh and said, "I finished at the track early, so I thought I'd come by and say hi."

She frowned and studied him for a long moment as she tucked the rag into the pocket of the coveralls she wore at work. "Seero… You lost a match today, didn't you? That's not very good with the tournament this weekend!"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He really wanted to keep Brianne's and Fleming's secret—and thought he was doing a good job so far—but it really was distracting him. No, he couldn't do that to his best friend. Inhaling deeply, he muttered, "Ah, it's nothing! Don't worry about it. I'll shape up."

She shot him a flat look and muttered, "You're a terrible liar, you know."

It really was Brianne's secret to tell. He couldn't. "Seriously, it's nothing!"

She crossed her arms, her expression telling him that he wasn't getting off without an explanation. "Seero…"

He sighed heavily and dug his hand into his thick hair. "C'mon, Faerie…! You know I'm bad with secrets and I'm trying really, really hard!"

Throwing her hands up in the air, she sighed and muttered, "Hey, this tournament could be your ticket to the pro leagues and if you go in there distracted, you'll never even get past round one!"

He sighed and dropped his head down to the reception counter of the garage before groaning loudly. "Faerie… You're a terrible influence…"

And to think, this was the girl he was so in love with.

If anyone were to ask him, he wouldn't even be able to explain what drew him towards her. For as long as he could remember, Faerie had always been either a good friend of his during childhood, or the most amazing girl he'd ever laid eyes on. He was pretty sure that he'd fallen in love with her the moment he'd gotten through puberty.

Yes, she was pretty and honest, but he wouldn't say that was what attracted him. There was just something that made his palms sweat whenever he spoke with her. He felt that he had gotten good at keeping that concealed, especially since he still wore the gloves from riding his runner.

Even so, she had a horribly stubborn personality and he knew he wouldn't be able to get away without telling her what was distracting him. Groaning heavily, He kept his forehead on his crossed arms and muttered, "It's about Brianne."

"Oh?" she mumbled, her tone telling him that her thoughts were something he didn't want to even think about. "Don't tell me you're-"

He bolted up before she could finish and snapped, "No!" Sighing again, he dropped back to his arms and mumbled, "She's with Fleming."

"Huh?" she asked, clearly confused. "What's she doing with him?"

He slowly peered up at her from the sleeve of his black jacket. And people thought he was dense. "She's _with_ him. As in, they're together. A couple. Romantically involved. And she spent the night at his place last week."

She stared back at him, grey eyes blank. "Wait… What?"

He nodded awkwardly from his position, his chin still resting on his arms. "Yeah… And they have been for a while, apparently. Brianne told me they were keeping it under wraps because they were worried about what her dad would do. I mean, I get that. Jack Atlas is pretty scary when he's mad…"

Her eyebrows went up as she muttered, "No kidding…"

He sighed again. "I tried so hard to keep a secret for my friend… I hope you're happy."

She crossed her arms and glanced up at the clock on the wall. "I get off at seven. Meet me for a duel then and we'll see if it helped you."

He couldn't bring himself to say it, but he really hoped she was right. If this tournament had scouts at it, then it would be worth it if he could win. Besides, Faerie wouldn't tell anyone. She had better integrity then that.

He shifted to stand and moved towards the door, saying, "Well, I got to get back home and drop off _Excalibur_ before I go to get Kali from school. See you later!"

…

Kali rode up the elevator to her home with her brother, fingering the strap to her backpack while waiting for the long ride to the top. Sighing heavily, she waited for it to go up the thirty-two floors while nodding her head to the music coming through her headphones. Her brother stood next to her with a pair of his own on, his eyes meticulously studying the book in his hands.

The girl cocked her head and slipped her headphones of to rest around her neck before poking Seero's shoulder to get his attention. He pushed his own headphones off before looking at her, asking, "What's up?"

She pointed at the book in his hand. "What is that?"

He held up the book slightly and said, "Didn't you get one? It's the rules for the tournament this weekend. I'm just reviewing the ban list to make sure I'm good."

She frowned and turned away slowly. She really did need to sort through that information packet they'd sent out. The whole thing was intimidating. She was scared of going out in public and trying to duel. Though she'd promised her mother that she would practice dueling with a duel disk, she had only actually tried three times. Twice with Seero and once with Julian, with only one reaching completion. The first one had resulted in the need for intervention on Julian's part with one of the sedatives.

The two guys had convinced her to get up and try again, which ended up in her duel against Julian. That one didn't require sedatives, but she had managed to stop just as her psychic powers came forward and had inflicted the first injury. Thankfully, her friend and guardian hadn't spited her for it. She didn't know what she would do if she hurt him. Julian was more than just a friend to her.

Even if he had no idea.

Sighing once, she thought back to her third duel from just yesterday, thankful that she actually made it until the end. Seero had still won, but she had made it to the end. That was what mattered. It was like a baby learning to walk. Small steps would eventually lead into larger, easier strides.

She was determined to become a fully functional duelist.

Finally, the elevator doors parted and the siblings stepped off without a word and quickly left their shoes by the door before splitting up. Kali moved towards the kitchen to put her leftover lunch in the refrigerator, sighing to herself as her brother moved for the living room.

A short, hushed laugh sounded from her brother before he called in a whisper for her, "Kali! Come here! Quietly!"

She left her backpack on the kitchen counter and moved on socked feet for the living room. Seero stood there, holding his phone as he snapped a picture of the sofa, a wide smile on his face at whatever had caused him to call for her. She moved up next to him to look at the couch and quickly slapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from voicing a reaction.

There, on the sofa, their parents laid together, sleeping in the afternoon sunlight pouring through the window. Their father laid back with his head on the armrest, his arm wrapped around their mother's back as she slept nestled between his form and the back of the sofa.

It was among the sweetest things Kali had ever seen.

She slipped her hand to her pocket to pull out her phone and snap her own picture, deciding then and there that she'd have a new wallpaper for her background. She had always loved the romance between her parents, even as she got older. Some teenagers thought it was embarrassing when their parents engaged in affectionate actions in public, but she loved it when they would kiss briefly as they parted ways or the moments when their hands would linger on one another. They were cute.

Suddenly, Akiza jerked awake and prodded her husband in her chest, murmuring, "Hey, wake up! The kids'll be home soon!"

Yusei didn't move, didn't even open his eyes as he muttered, "You're the one that was worried, Aki. It's my couch to sleep on."

"Seriously, though! Get up!"

Kali stifled a giggle as Seero, now taking a video recording of the scene, murmured, "Don't move on our account."

Their mother turned to slowly look at them as Yusei finally lifted his head and glanced at his children. "Hey, you're home. How was school?"

Kali shrugged, a smile still on her face as she watched her parents still seated together closely. "It was all right. Boring. Physics exam was easy."

He smiled and leaned back on the armrest again, wrapping his arm around his wife's waist to bring her back against his side. "Runs in the family, I guess. Seero, how was the track?"

Her brother shrugged slightly while still recording. "It was fine, I guess. I had to talk to Faerie, so I left a little early to stop by her shop."

"Mm," he hummed, offering a confirmation that he'd heard.

Kali frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask, "Um… It's only about four o'clock on a Monday… Why are both of you guys home already?"

Akiza finally gave up and dropped down to rest on her husband's shoulder once more. "I had an early delivery and had to tend to that all day. My on-call shift ended around two, so I came back then."

Yusei closed his eyes, completely at ease while cuddling with his wife in front of their teenage children. "Channing kicked me home again. I'd been at the lab since Friday morning."

Kali realized then that she hadn't seen her father all weekend and, though his presence was usually sparse, he was usually there off and on over weekends.

Seero finally finished his recording and tucked his phone back into his pocket before moving over and sitting on the other couch. "Well, since we're all here, think we could do something fun?"

Kali grinned brightly. Family outings were a rarity with all four members present. "Yes! Can we?"

…

_**Thursday, January 20th**_

"Pearsy!"

The thirteen-year-old girl looked up at the sound of her name, then called a quick, "One second, Mom!" before finishing off her thick braid and clipping her barrette to hold it in place. She reached out to grab her deck from the table before running out of her bedroom and down the stairs. Skipping into the living room, she found her mother sitting on the couch with her laptop. Smiling, she leaning on the back of the sofa and said, "Hi, Mom! You called me?"

Ruka Hogan looked up from her computer screen and smiled at her youngest child. "Hey, Pearsy." She turned her laptop to show her the screen and asked, "You said you were using this program at school, right? They updated the version and the whole thing looks different."

The teenager leaned over the couch to look at the screen and glanced over the new interface, murmuring, "What did you want to do with it?"

"Top left corner."

The two girls looked up to see Atticus walk in with a soda in his hand, drinking an after-dinner beverage. He dropped down into an armchair and just looked at the two women watching him and shrugged. "What? I use it, too."

Ruka shook her head and closed her laptop before looking at her son and asking, "That tournament's coming up this weekend, isn't it? Are you ready?"

His eyebrow rose, the surprise that she remembered evident on his face as he muttered, "Yeah, I'm always ready."

Pearsy stood up and stretched her arms over her head. "The WRGP is running again this year. Are you going to enter with your friends?"

He shrugged. "Doubt it. I don't have any care to prove myself like that. All it gets you is a pain in the ass and pro offers at every turn."

Pearsy couldn't help but sigh she muttered, "Still bitter…"

Before he could retort, their mother cut in and said, "I can't help but remember the first WRGP whenever it comes around."

The teenage girl moved around the couch to sit down next to her mother and looked at her. "You were in it, weren't you? On Team 5D's?"

She chuckled and leaned back before brushing her long, teal hair over her shoulder. "No, not really. I was only thirteen. Besides, you guys know I never got a turbo license. I was pitcrew for Team 5D's, though."

"So…" Pearsy started, leaning back while hugging her knees. "What you're saying is that if Atticus signs up, I could potentially be on his pitcrew?"

Her brother rolled his eyes. "You don't know anything about runners. What could you do as pitcrew? And I'm not signing up, either!"

"Hmph!" she grumbled.

"Well, this is a nice family scene to come home to!"

All eyes turned towards the door to see an orange-haired man standing there, leaning against the doorframe while wearing an orange button-down shirt and black jeans. Pearsy jumped up from the couch and ran around it, throwing her arms around his waist and crying, "Daddy!"

Crow Hogan ran his hand over her hair playfully as he replied, "Hey, Robbie Two! You been good for your mom?"

She pulled back with a smile as he called her by her nickname. Her namesake was her father's mentor named Robert Pearson, so he had called her 'Robbie Two' as a pun of that for as long as she could remember. "Always my best!"

Atticus rolled his eyes and shifted to stand, marching off towards his bedroom without looking back. "I'm out. I'll text Faerie and let her know to stay at work longer."

Pearsy watched her father's face fall as his son left the room without so much as a hello, then grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room, saying, "I watched all of your duels! You're awesome as ever!"

He managed a smile, trying not to show how upset he was over his son's departure. "Thanks, kiddo! I don't even have to try!"

She beamed. "Will you enter the WRGP this year?"

He shook his head with a smile. "Nope. Can't. I'm on contract as a solo duelist, so I can't team up for it."

His wife sat there with a smile, watching her husband and daughter interact quietly before finally saying, "And what am I? A dust collector? Hello to you, too, Crow."

He grinned at her sarcasm and moved over to the couch, leaning over the back to greet her with a quick kiss. "Hey, there, beautiful. How've you been?"

She smiled and leaned back. "Just fine. How was your trip?"

Pearsy sat down and watched as her parents had small talk, then leaned back in the armchair she'd fallen into. Her mother was her own age of thirteen when her parents had met. She reached out and grabbed a throw pillow from the chair next her and hugged it. She was a romantic at heart. She couldn't wait until she was old enough to meet and date people and, if she was lucky, fall in love.

After a long moment, her father leaned back and stretched his arms over his head, saying, "I just got off a fourteen-hour flight with layovers, so I'm gonna go grab a shower, okay?"

Ruka nodded. "Please do. We already had dinner, but there're leftovers in the fridge if you want to warm them up."

He nodded with a grin. "Great! It's been too long since I've had your cooking!" Giving her one more quick kiss, he turned to leave and pat Pearsy's head on his way out, saying, "See you in a few, Robbie Two!"

As soon as he was out of the room, her mother sighed and dropped her head in her hand. "Atticus…"

Pearsy was pretty sure that her mother forgot she was in the room at that point, so she stood up from her armchair and moved over to the couch. She twisted to sit sideways and leaned on the back before saying, "Mom? Why do you think Atticus and Faerie hate dad?" She already knew the answer, but she wanted to know what her mother's thoughts were on the subject.

Sighing deeply, Ruka looked at her daughter and replied, "They don't hate him… They're just angry with him for following his career instead of being there for them. I don't want to say they're right, but… They do have a right to be angry. Did you know that he missed their first class tournament?"

She shook her head. She hadn't known that. She was three years younger than her twin siblings, so she would have been eight when they entered Duel Academy. All she remembered was talk of duels and tournaments, but nothing particular. "Is that so…?"

"Your father has worked hard to get where he is, rising from the pits of the Old Satellite to get to the place of top two duelists in the world. It's just hard for me to watch the conflict between him and your siblings grow like this." She shook her head and forced a smile at her daughter. "But it's okay. We'll get through this somehow."

Pearsy smiled back and thrust her thumb over her shoulder in the direction her brother had gone before saying, "You do know that he was drinking a beer, right?"

She chuckled and leaned back in her seat. "If he thought I _didn't_ notice, he's in for a surprise."

Smiling secretively, she asked, "What's his punishment?"

"Suffice to say that the minifridge will vanish from his bedroom the next time he leaves the house and his room will be searched for any other beverages. He'll find out the hard way that I don't condone lawbreaking in this house."

"But dad had criminal markers until twelve years ago, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but his crimes have been dismissed along with all others involved with the Old Satellite. Atticus doesn't have any excuse for underage drinking."

* * *

Pearsy lives my life. Being constantly called to assist technologically-challenged parent(s)… My mom still asks me how to use her Mac and iPhone. I am not a Mac person. Why must she call me? She's got three other kids…

/rant

Anyway, so this was just a bit of a filler chapter before we get into the tournament. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what you think will happen or who might win!

Oh, and you may have noticed that I used Ruka's Japanese name. I'm so mixed up between dub and sub that I just decided to use the names I like better. :P Still debating if I should switch the Fudos to last name first, since they're one of the few actual Japanese families in here. :D Thoughts?

Anyway, I'll update as soon as I can!

Please review!

-Valk


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